Family Matters
by Eyes like Dawn
Summary: A 'what if' story. What if Kara had not come to earth in a spaceship like Clark? What if she had been born and raised in the Phantom Zone? A different journey to becoming Supergirl. Read and Review.
1. Chapter 1

_A/N: Hi, so I usually write a lot of W.O.W fanfic, but I love the JL and thought it was time to write something! Just a 'what if' story, a lot of this is totally wrong, for example: In this story Kara and Clark are born roughly around the same time, but still Kara is younger and stuff like that. If it's too much anathema for you hardcore fans, sorry. If not read and review :3 _

_~8~8~ _

The fortress of solitude was, like its name, a cold lonely place. It was created to mimic a part of the long dead world of Krypton but Superman had never called it home, it was only a place to get away and ask for advice when such was needed. He had often thought the name should have been change from fortress to dungeon, for it always seemed so unwelcoming. Perhpas it was just growing up around humans, but that's how he always felt when coming here.

The crystal of the fortress thrummed to life in a myriad of colors as a lone blue blurred figure swooped into the icy palace and landed gingerly on the crystalline floor causing a low echo to resound across the room.

"Welcome back, my son." Jor-el's monotone serious voice echoed through the home away from home of Superman.

"Thank you, Jor-el." Kal-el replied dryly, as he ran a hand through his jet black hair shifting ice that had formed from his fast trip. Draping his snow covered cape over an uncomfortable clear chair he sat with a tired sigh escaping his lips.

"The villainous ilk of Darksied has been vanquished?" His father's voice ask mildly, but sounded more like a statement having all faith his son could conquer any thing the evil lord of Apocalypse threw.

"Yes, the crystals I took were a big help in channeling the oa and star heart power to beat back Darksieds minions and his son." The man of steel drifted off into a brooding silence after he replied. He was uninterested in telling the voice the details of the battle, his mind was on another subject. Family.

He always thought of family when he came to the fortress, perhaps it was because of the grand larger than life statue standing in the great hall. His strong father and elegant mother side by side, looking confident, loving, and regal as their stony eyes looked down upon him when he looked up at the monument. It always reminded him that he was alone, the last son as some had termed him. Of course he had his parents back in Smallville and certainly considered them his family, but blood kin was what he meant. Hell, even Darksied had family! Yet all he had was the voice of a long dead father who cared more about the kyrptonian legacy living on than the son itself.

"Good." The voice replied totally oblivious to the deep thought his son was having. There was a slight hint of relief and slyness in Jor-el's tone, triggering warning bells in Kal-el's head. "Now you may give them to the robot to replace them and reset my security functions."

Superman shrugged, taking the crystals out of a bag. They were cold to the touch and reflected the light from the fortress in every direction when he put them up to the brilliant light. "Why bother, I can do them myself."

"No!" Jor-el cried out ferociously, the crystals around changing hue to a panicked crimson before becoming clear again in a flash. "No." It said again in a confident calmer, tone but knowing the damage was done. "It's better if the robot does it."

Kal-el hadn't the chance to take a good look at the room when he taken the crystals, in such a hurry to combat the Lord of Apocolypse. Until a few months ago he hadn't even known it existed, the fact the Jor-el desired to keep him away was motivation enough to explore it properly. He ignored the reasoning voice of his father as he flew to the room. The crystals given to him were security crystals that protected all the many functions of the fortress from data recovery and memory scans, Jor-el had given them to him to deflect the rays from an omega beam cannon the scientist on Apocalypse had managed to create threatening worlds with a fiery doom if they had refused to submit to the reign of the evil apocalypse.

While he had taken the crystals the fortress had remained mostly venerable, meaning there was nothing between Kal-el and the memory banks to stop him from looking at what his father was attempting to hide. Both Kal-el and Jor-el knew he couldn't be stopped from entering with the crystals in Kal-el's grip.

Crystal doors opened to reveal a dim room, covered in crystalline cobwebs, a few chairs and a panel of dark crystal's with only one, a dull red, blinking slowly. He went over to the panel looking at it in curiosity. Swiping the dust from it, the one illuminating crystal kept a steady pulsing red like a heartbeat almost.

"Jor-el, what is this?" He asked knowing the machine had no choice but to answer.

"A panel." It replied as a matter of fact.

"Stop dodging." The man of steel growled. "I don't know why you don't want me to know about this but I want the full story about it, now."

The voice was silent for so long, Kal-el thought it had shut itself down so he wouldn't answer but programmed to answer any and all questions from Kal-el he doubted it. A small halo-screen came up, fuzzy at first but cleared out just a bit to make out a few figures. One was his mother that other some one who looked like his father but off. When the voice finally did reply it was in all but a whisper. "These three crystals you see before you were made to monitor a living heartbeat in the Phantom Zone. The dulled crystals mean that some one has died."

Kal-el frowned in disapproval, his brow knitting together in confusing. None of this was making any sense at all. "There's only one left but Zod and his gang are still alive, so why are two dark?"

The images on the halo-screen began to speak in fuzzed tones. "_Jor-el, my wife is pregnant_!" Zor-el said enthusiastically with a wide broad smile, his blue eyes flashing happily. He looked exuberant and proud, like any father to be, but still the man of steel was confused, why show this image?

"You do not want to know anymore, my son." Jor-el replied in what might have been a regretful tone.

Kal-el sunk into the chair with a pondering expression, his blue eyes like glass as he watched other images blur past the fuzzed screen. "Tell me, what is that blinking light?"

There was a moment of silence, then a rather human sounding sigh. "I don't what it is, but I know who it is. Your cousin."

It took Kal-el a few moments to register the words. When he did, his eyes widened. Cousin!

"Let me explain." Jor-el added quickly. "It is a long story, one that will change all you know of how you came here."

"One I want to hear!" The man of steel replied adamantly. He didn't care now, all he knew was that suddenly, for something that should have been routine and trivial, something was very wrong.

The computer sighed in resignation. "Very well, it began like this. As you know I had a brother. Zor-el. He was…brilliant, so was his wife. It was he who warned me of the coming planets destruction, but at the time like those above me I paid no heed. Years before our planet exploded my brother revealed to me a secret project he had shared with no one but his pregnant wife. It was a prototype ship only big enough to house one being."

Kal-el's eyes went wide with shock; he leaned forward in the crystalline chair, his hands griping the cold dusty panel, not believing what he was hearing. There was a sinking feeling deep in his gut but he forced himself not to stop the voice.

"When I came to realize that my brother had been right and Krypton was going to be destroyed, I had to do something to save my heir and carrying on the line of krypton in whatever way I could. I had no time to build my own craft." The solemn voice paused for a moment, a linger air of regret chiming through the room. "I stole the craft from my brother and had him and his wife banished to the phantom zone. It was the only way I could figure my brother wouldn't die a horrible complete oblivion as I and my wife. It was meant to be a kindness, but I even now wonder…" The voice trailed off slightly and Kal-el let that part slide not wanting the details. "That blinking is the heir of my brother." The voice finished, almost ashamedly.

The man of steel leapt up, slamming a fist against the old panel causing it to split in a wide crack. "So you lied to everyone, stole your brother's ship meant for his child and banished them to a place that makes hell look like breakfast at Tiffany's! How could you keep this from me!" Kal-el asked outraged his emotions in rocky turmoil. What was meant for another, his family, had been stolen by he father in some skewed form of righteousness on his part.

"How could I not? You are my son. It was their life over the hero of earth!" Jor-el replied as if attempting to reason for his despicable actions.

Kal-el was silent, his hands clenched. Quickly he turned around exiting the room in disgust with the blinking crystal.

"My son, what are you going to do?" there was visible dread in Jor-el's tone as if he knew the words that were going to come out of his son's mouth.

"Finding a way to pull the only family I have left out of the phantom zone." He replied determinedly. He could barely bear the thought of having family, unjustly imprisoned for his sake. Although it was his father who had done the deed, he felt ashamed as if he had stolen it himself.

"That would be unwise. Everything that has ever escaped the phantom zone has been evil. It is a realm of prisoners." The monotone voice countered simply.

"Well that won't be their fault, would it?" Kal-el snarled, his blue eyes blazing angrily as he stomped through the lonely fortress, his mind weaving a plan to somehow get the last living relative he had out of the place that made apocalypse look like paradise island.

"You'll never bring them out, to escape is nigh impossible. Only by an accident was Zod able to escape at all! The zone was design to keep people out from freeing the prisoners and to keep the prisoners in without ever escaping, you'll never do it."

"Not without help," Kal-el mumbled, before soaring through the cold air out of the fortress, he had to go see a friend.

"You sure this will work, Zatanna?" Kal-el asked warily as he watched the jovial worker of magic make the finishing touches to a summoning circle of the fortress floor. There would be no help if things got out of control or something went wrong. The project was on a strict need to know basis, those who knew were only Zatanna and Lois.

The magician winked at him cavalierly before placing her top hat firmly on her head and straitening a ruffle in her velvet black magician's coat. "Course, sweet heart, as long as my summoning platform is correct and there's no magic defense up it'll be a breeze. Now stand back while I work."

The enigmatic sorceress, rolled up her cuffed sleeves like a magician about to perform a children's trick, wiggling her fingers for good measure; she liked the drama magic brought. "tropsnart lel-lak nisouc ot htrae."

The magicians' hand glowed an eerie blue as circles surrounded a small summoning platform. Tendrils of gray magic wafted through the air like wisps of fog circling the platform. Kal-el watched as a critical spectator, his muscled arms crossed and a thought full frown etched into his face as the magic brushed against him like a spider's web.

His father's words, although they had been trying to dissuade him from summoning his cousin from the Phantom Zone, had not bounced off him like bullets. What Jor-el said had been correct, nothing that had ever escaped the Zone was good. Of course only criminals had escaped and his cousin had been imprisoned while still in the womb, an innocent, but what he knew about the Zone was that nothing stayed innocent in there for long. The Zone, as he had heard and only faintly glimpsed, was a barren waste where danger lurked at every corner, a hell where time was a paradox meaning it could be literal centuries or more before you died if nothing had claimed you life first. A place where the cruelest and meanest of the universe called home. He couldn't help but wonder what would his cousin be like, how old would they be, and how would their attitude to a completely different place affect them.

~8~8~

Coarse charcoal gray sand shifted upon the tall barren dunes of the Phantom Zone the vicious billowing winds blew the sands in a way where it felt like you were being cut with a thousand tiny razors though once you had lived there long enough it became the norm. Pain had always been the norm in the Phantom Zone. The continuous dusk like light gave little hint to the land around and even if it had there would have only been miles upon miles of waste and little gangs of long forgotten prisoners here and there pillaging others and trying to make whatever life they could scratch out for themselves.

A scrawny rat like animal native to the zone stuck its wet black nose out of the sand, sniffing warily against the wind before wholly surfacing like a lump of sand only to shake the sand away in a tiny cloud. It was an ugly creature, damp oily black fur, two never still tiny red pinpricks for eyes, tattered ears that were perked in alert on its head, a sickly pale underbelly, yellowing long teeth that stuck out near its cracked muck stained paws and a thick pink tail that it wrapped around a hind leg like a rope.

It's piercing yellow eyes squinted in the dust as it sniffed the air again, its whiskers twitching up and down at the motion. It crouched ready to begin hunting for anything to eat when without warning a tall black figure struck, grabbing the creature by its furry bloated bulk. With a hiss of surprise the beast bit at its hunter, sinking his sharp teeth into soft flesh hoping to bite on something critical or at least make the figure drop it. It jerked its fangs out, blood coating the teeth, ready for another bite but was only rewarded with a jarring crack and then a world of darkness.

Kara Zor-el nearly let out a whoop of victory, but suppressed it knowing she was down wind, and someone might hear her jubilant cry. The young kyrptonian was dressed simply in a tattered rough spun shirt she had found on a dead prisoner along with some leggings she stole from a camp in the dead of night held with a length of precious rope around her middle. Her hair was loosely tied behind her in a long dirty blonde ponytail that fluttered in the never ceasing cold winds. She smiled as she held the small limp animal in her hands the head lolling about on a snapped neck, its teeth still bared viciously.

Kara stroked the coarse oily fur with her bleeding hand, she had gotten lucky tonight, only one bite, these things usually put up more of a fight using their razor like claws along with those spikes of teeth. At least she would have something to eat tonight.

A howl pierced the air like a crack of thunder, snapping the young kyrptonian out of her happy moment. Stuffing the dead beast in her animal skinned pack she made all haste to her small hiding place she was currently calling home.

The hiding place wasn't much, a dune supported by roots of an old blown over tree that made it a safe haven to hide. Kara had lived there for three months, the longest she'd spent anyplace, so it was almost what she considered home. Skittering under a myriad of dried, sharp thorn like branches she entered a small but comfortable haven with a pit dug for fires when she thought it was safe, some yellowing bones in a pile, and a few of her belongings that she carried when on the move.

Taking the rock crafted knife from her side she decided to allow the rare occurrence of a fire to cook the meal, even though she knew of all nights it was a risk to have such. At least cooked the beasts that she managed to catch were a tad less revolting to eat.

She flinched when another howl echoed, fainter, but no less dangerous, making her more cautious side came out. It would be foolish to start a fire with the scent of fresh blood in the wind and the hissing cry of the beast still lingering. Sighing, she began to cut into the beast with her knife a grimace coming to her face as blood splattered her features. "No fire tonight." She muttered to herself cutting off a piece of half warm bloodied meat to devour.

As usual the foul rotting chewy taste nearly made her gag, but it was better than absolutely nothing. Closing her eyes tightly she steadied herself before forcing a swallow of the tainted tasting meat, a gust of cold wind blew past her, but so used to the biting chill of the Zone she barely acknowledged it. Nothing could have prepared her for what she saw once she opened her eyes.

The next things she knew, blinding light, brighter than even the campfires she had sat beside all her life filled her vision. It stung her eyes worse than a scorpion's tail and filled her with terror she had only ever known once more in her life.

Her hands dropped the rat like creature and dagger to shield her eyes as she groaned in pain of the luminance. Around her she heard voice, yelling, and screaming in an odd tongue, excited or sounding victorious. The ground under her was cold as a night and felt so different from anything she had felt before. With out thinking she leapt up, now regretting she had dropped her precious blade but going to town with wild swings of her fist. Like the rodent, what ever had caught her was going to get bit once or twice before she went down!

~8~8~

The first thing Clark noticed was that it was a girl, a girl covered in blood, dirt, sand, and other things, smelling to the high heavens but a girl nonetheless. Her untamable golden sun hair flowing down her back like a banner and her flashing blue eyes so outspoken on her dirty face told him that she would be very pretty once cleaned up. If they even got that far. She was rushing to attack trying to pummel Zatanna with a few clumsy punches that all went wide or fell short, simple enough for the wily enchantress to dodge with ease.

"Zee, make her sleep!" Clark yelled, still forcing himself not to get involved just yet.

He knew he shouldn't become attached in anyway just yet, just in case his father's words were true.

The backwards word slipped soothingly from Zatana's lips and he saw the young kyrptonian falter. Her swings became slower, heavier, as she tried to plow on but couldn't seem to muster the energy. Long lashes fluttered sleepily as she fell to a knee. She spoke a slurred word that sounded vaguely kyrptonian and slumped completely to the floor. Only then did Clark deem to walk over, slow and tentative as if she was a possum playing dead in the middle of a Smallville back road.

Cousin, family! The word would not let him alone. This was his family, his kin, his blood!

She was groaning and struggling like she had been caught in molasses when his picked her up in his bulging arms easily. Before she went fully into sleep her eyes fluttered, with almost a hint of recognition. Kal-el was thrilled. Smiling eagerly he spoke two words before she fell into sleep. "Hello, cousin."


	2. A Whole New World

_A/N: What's in italicized means Kara is having a flash back or a dream._

**~8~8~**

"_Father, why are we in this evil place?" Kara asked quietly. Her spindly long leg were drawn up to her chest, her arms__ wrapped around her knocky knees as she gazed into the fire her farther had taught her to build. She had only been a child then, a thin waif of a girl like a straggly weed that climbed out of the coarse sand to greet the dull sun of the Zone. _

_The elder Kyrptonian stopped chewing the tough meat of some unfortunate animal they had scavenged in the Zone and squinted ponderously into the black distance of sand dunes. After a few moments of silence he bit into the foul meat again, chewing thoughtfully before he spoke through a full mouth. "There was a man, a man I once called brother; I will never speak his name again so let us simply call him the Traitor. I trusted the Traitor once and told him that are world would be destroyed, he didn't believe me and never prepared for the end despite my warnings. We he finally did come to his senses it was to late. So do you know what the Traitor did?"_

_The child Kara shook her head in puzzlement making the elder man smile at her naivety. It was a rare thing to have simple childish puzzlement although that innocence would soon be stolen by the Zone. The Zone never let anything stay pure for long. _

"_He stole what was mine and had me, your mother, and you who were still being nurtured in the womb, banished to this place of lawless criminals." Her father snorted disdainfully and spat out a bone fragment that sizzled in the hungry flames, his tone bitter as the waters of the Zone. "To think the real criminal got away and sent the upright to hell. I would laugh if it wasn't my irony. So here we sit, my child, to waste our days as criminals forced to act like criminals and survive like all the true scum that dwell here." _

_Kara pursed her lips, her small hands clenched into fist. She would have cried out, 'That's not fair!' Had she known such a ludicrous word. Nothing was 'fair' in the Zone; it was a way of life. _

"_If I ever find the man that did this I'll cut him up into tiny pieces!" She had snarled angrily. _

_Her father had not said anything to scold her for such talk, as he usually did. When she made reference to murder, he would always say good people were better than that. This time however he was silent, he looked at her from across the fire, the flames casting odds glows across his scared face. His blue eyes cast a haunted look and he only gave her a quick nod of approval. _

The dream began to fade into lines of indiscernible mists then like thin smoke curling off into the wind it was gone without a trace. It was a dream Kara had often, the 'good' dream of the regular two that often stalked the recesses of her mind.

Sun splashed it golden glow upon Kara's face making the young Kryptonian sniffle and snuggle further under the colorful pinwheel patterned blanket covering her. The first rays of warm light filtered in through soft sky blue homespun curtains enveloping a small quaint room in the soft radiance of dawn.

Kara screwed her eyes shut tighter against the light that splashed across the room and beamed right in her face. For a moment she believed it light from a campfire but realized this was a different warmth one that felt as if her body was drinking it. She felt comfortable, safe almost, a rare thing in the Zone and wondered why she felt so at ease. The days past events hit the young Kyrptonian like a thunderbolt; the strange place of jagged white crystals she had suddenly appeared at, with odd creatures wearing strange clothes talking in a language she couldn't possibly comprehend. It had all happened so fast, then she had gone to sleep to wake up where ever she was now.

Her eyes popped open in shock; she wasn't in the Zone, or at least a part she knew of. The sudden brightness of the sun stunned Kara like a blow to the head, searing into her retinas like a blinking brand of pain and making her eyes bloom with black and white spots. So used to the twilight grays and black skies of the Zone such light was foreign and overwhelming to her grayed senses. She yelled in pain as she threw her arm up to attempt to block out the yellow rays as her eyes struggled through the painful adjustment, and she tried scrambling to get up from under a tangling mess of warm decorative blankets.

Lack of movement caused her even more panic and confusion in her semi-blind state making her struggled hysterically to get free of the heavy blankets. Where was she? Who had captured her? With out warning she felt herself roll off what ever she'd been laying on to land hard on the cold floor. Slowly her eyes began adjusting to the strange yet beautiful new light and the blurry world she had first awoken to began to come in clearer. She was on a floor that looked to be made of wood, she was dressed in some blue and red clothing that covered her arms and legs, the softest material she had ever felt. It was closed in front of her by bright golden colored small circular things, and the patterns on the garb seemed to look like some sort of bear but much less aggressive than those of the Zone.

"Glad to see you're awake." A male voice suddenly stated.

Kara jerked her head forward and up in surprise to see a tall black haired, smiling male looking down at her. His black hair was cut short with a bit in front like a loose curl, blue eyes that sparkled in happiness and a faint smile on what Kara guessed was a usually serious expression. He was clean and dressed in a long sleeved flannel shirt of red and black and some blue jeans with a few dirt stains at the knee.

Kara instantly placed it as the last face she saw before slumber had come over her. Reacting swiftly she leapt to her feet to stand at chest level with the calm yet excited male. Both hands curled into fist she struck at him. Kara gasped in pain and surprise as her fist made contact with flesh of his face; it was akin to hitting solid stone. She hissed in pain, withdrawing her hand she clutched at the bruising knuckles and semi-numbed fingers rubbing them disdainfully.

Clark let a faint sigh slide past his lips as he looked at the young woman tend to her aching hand and toss him angry glares every few seconds. To have tried to stop her from hitting him might have made her even more mistrustful and panicked than she already was, better to let her learn a few things on her own. Yet despite all the negatives, this moment he feared might have wrought, he was still excited as a child of Christmas. How long had he envisioned this day to speak with another Kyrptonian, his living family, kin, some one who didn't want to rule the world or destroy it in flames and darkness.

Outstretching his hand slowly he smiled disarmingly. "Greetings my name is Kal-." He stopped short when she staggered away from him like an anxious dog that backed away when some one got too close.

As she stumbled backwards her foot got caught on a hanging piece of blanket making her slip and tumble to the floor. Her crystal blue eyes were wide with alarm and what Clark assumed might have been sheer terror as she scrambled backwards as far as she could before bumping into the nightstand by the bed.

She was afraid. She had tried to defend her self but knew she couldn't hurt him with physical force, well, not yet anyway. Thanks to another spell from Zatanna, the girl's powers had been subduded until the right time for the spell to be revoked. He had no desire to let a teen, fresh from the Phantom Zone run rampant with paowers she had absolutly no control over.

"I-it alright, I won't hurt you." He stuttered hastily in a gentle tone to assuage her fears.

His steps were agonizingly slow as he closed the distance to the cowering girl who looked up at him in helpless fear. Clark frowned at the terror dancing in her blue eyes, this had to be what the victims of murders and villains looked like before facing their demise. It made him disgusted with himself that the young Kyrptonian was looking at him with that same terror. With a deep breath he knelt down remembering every move could make her react in fear.

"My name is Kal, I'm not here to hurt you." He started again softly.

The young kyrptonian was silent for a moment as if deciphering his words or trying to judge his honesty, she must have undoubtedly come across a few devious creatures in the Zone so Clark couldn't blame her for that.

"W-where am I-I?" Kara stuttered as she looked around the room. Everything looked exotic and foreign from strange drawings on the walls and the soft plush cot with the heavy furs that had actually been quite comfortable. Large…things, Kara had no word for stood against a wall. It was made of old wood and had two doors with brass hinges that gleamed in the bright light, the best word she could surmise was an upright chest.

Clark smiled again in relief that she could understand him and was tactfully observant. "You are at my parents home, the Kent farm. On earth." He admitted readily. Clark was careful not to give to much information just yet, he still wasn't quite sure if she was more evil than good.

"What is a 'Kent farm, and earth?'" She asked. The words came out slowly and nearly indecipherable as she spoke the foreign words.

Clark opened his mouth to try and explain, but closed it quickly again. If he tried to explain what a farm was he would undoubtedly get a myriad of other questions from the explanation. "You'll understand a time goes along." He chuckled.

His brief laugh died off awkwardly in his throat as Kara's persistent somber expression simply stared critically at him. He had a faint notion that this girl had never laughed in her life, but then again she had been raised in the Phantom Zone. "May I know your name." Clark persisted gently in the conversation ever treading on eggshells with the wary young Kyrptonian.

"Kara, daughter of Zor-el." She stated with out hesitation, she seemed to square her shoulder and jut out her chin, very proud of her lineage.

Clark smiled at his cousin now having definitive proof of who she was. There was no way, unless some how she had known of his coming would she have thought up that answer all her own. " Glad to meet your acquaintance, Kara Zor-el. You must have alot on questions, being here in this strange place. I'll answer all your questions in time, but for the moment, are you hungry?" He asked still trying to break away her cloistered shell and try to make out a little of the teen that was beneath the wary, hard surface.

Kara visibly brightened at the mention of food. Her azure eyes widened and she looked even more alert, there was an ironic smirk on her face as if she had tried to grin but failed. "I'm always hungry." She replied to Clark in a scoffing tone as if it should have been a known fact. The Zone was a sheer desert wasteland of near nothingness filled with scavengers and those who'd kill you over a handful of water; what did he expect her to be?

A wide smile brooked to Clarks face as he let out a hearty chuckle. "You won't have to worry about that anymore; once my mother has a hungry soul in the house she won't rest till you're full."

Even at the mention of food, Clark's stomach rumbled, he could already hear the familiar sharp pops of bacon in the pan and the faint hum of his mother singing an old tune long forgotten on some vinyl record. They were familiar sounds, comforting ones that he hoped one day his cousin might learn to enjoy and love as well.

With a heavy grunt he got to his feet, and turned to the door when he realized Kara had not moved. He turned to face the young teen seeing her standing there warily, her eyes looking over the door as if when she walked through some elaborate trap would be sprung upon her.

"There's no need to be frightened." He assured her strongly trying to have her trust him.

The teen bristled angrily at his statement as if slapped; her jaw clenched and blue eyes narrowed like icy daggers. How she had been raised, being 'frightened' was the equivalent of death. It meant you were a coward and unless you had a big enough group to back you up, cowards didn't last long in the Zone.

"I'm not frightened, but I'm not stupid. I don't trust you and I don't know what half of this stuff is. I don't want to do anything dangerous." She spat venomously.

Kal thrust his hands out disarmingly. "Okay, fine, but if you're hungry you'll follow." With that he strode out the door, his brown boots thudding on the wood softly. He counted to three under his breath then heaved a sigh of relief as he heard strong steps echo from behind.

Kara tried hard not to look surprised as she stepped out of the room, but it was hard seeing new things at literally every turn; chest, closets, rugs, pictures, chairs, flower pots filled with golden colored flowers or bright green leaves tumbling over the sides, everything was new and interesting.

Then the smells hit her like lightening. The fresh laundry hanging on the line whipping in the breeze letting the scent of washed cotton mingle with the rich aroma of a fresh plowed field along the clean currents of the morning air mingled with the tantalizing whiffs of thick sliced bacon and pancakes with syrup all bursting upon Kara's senses at one time. Like a new born thrust into a world of light and sound from a dark place they had known all their life it was both exciting and terrifying. It all felt surreal, like a dream or maybe death. She put a hand to her face and felt warm drool dribbling down her chin as she and Clark entered the kitchen.

Ma Kent was the oldest person Kara had ever seen. Given that when people got old in the Zone they became easy pickings even to the newest thieves and killers; no one truly reached a ripe old age in the Zone. She had a soft but weathered face, tanned from her days in the sun. Crows feet around her warm brown eyes and long laugh lines around her smiling mouth. Her hair was down to her neck, mostly black but peppered with streaks of gray. She was short, but solid like an immovable wall which time itself couldn't shake easily. Her hands were calloused but at the same time seemed gentle. She wore a dress with sunflowers print on them and a bright yellow apron on top of that.

So this was a mother, Kara guessed. She had never known her own mother, she had died giving birth to her, and her father had spoken little about her.

Ma Kent's glance fell to the two Kryptonians and she looked at Kara warmly as if she had known her all her life. She seemed unconcerned and at complete ease with Kara around though probably knowing where she hailed from.

"Breakfast is almost ready, son." Ma Kent stated as she expertly flipped a blueberry pancake, letting it sizzle across the ancient griddle. "You and your cousin have a seat, Pa will be in soon after he finishes feeding the chickens."

Kara listened to the strange language and watched Kal reply in turn then turn to her speaking in Kyrptonian again. "We're nearly ready to eat, Kara, have a seat."

"Why doesn't the old one speak our language?" Kara asked as she sat down tentatively. Her eyes warily roved over the strange set before her of shiny silver instruments, prong or shovel like on either side of a plate. She could only image what such strange tools were for.

Clark glared at her disapprovingly at her call his mother 'old one'. "Her name his Martha Kent, she's a human, but she's my mother. I was adopted and raised by the Kent's. They are my as much my family as you are mine."

"Adopted?" Kara spoke the word quizzically as she dared pick up a fork giving it further inspection. "Another word that is foreign to me."

"To take some one or some thing in that is not your own but raise it like it were." He explained.

Kara laughed hollowly as she leaned back in the chair. Why would anyone willingly take in a burden that was not there own? Half the people in the Zone strove to get rid of the things that were theirs, such a thought of taking in something that wasn't your own was ludicrous. " I am defiantly not in the Phantom Zone anymore."

Clark couldn't help but laugh at her statement, and when she asked why he laughed he said he'd explain it to her one day.

Like some special timing mechanism, the one the woman referred to as 'pa' came striding into the strange hut just as Ma laid the breakfast on the blue table cloth. He had a deep farmers tan and was broad shouldered although he was aging he seemed strong as stone. He had fewer laugh lines but a leathery brow and onyx black eyes that shot Kara an obsidian glare that told her that he, unlike his wife, was not as carefree with her presence.

Although she noted his presence and glare, Kara's eyes were mostly stapled to the food. A small basket of golden brown buttery biscuits, a plate of crispy bacon that was cooked just right and a stack of perfectly circular pancakes oozing with warm maple syrup from down its sides. The aromas alone were enough to make Kara remember how hungry she was and how loud her stomach cried out for food.

As Ma doled the food out, Kara immediately snatched the food from off her plate shoveling it into her mouth with a speed that would have made the Flash jealous. Instantly Kara's mouth exploded with an array of flavors she had never known existed; sweet, savory, buttery, fluffy. Grabbing a glass of water she gulped it down to find that it had no bitter aftertaste that stung her throat or a slimy residue that stuck to the roof of her mouth. She was about to try the orange looking liquid her hand still clutching a pancake when she heard Kal's rumbling laughter. "Whoa, Kara, take it easy, the foods not going to fly away, and no one's going to take it from you."

The teenage Kyrptonian eyes found Kal, and narrowed in a 'you're serious,' kind of glare before she proceeded to dig in with no less gusto. Food in the Zone had been hard to come by, and you had to be quick and take before some one bigger and stronger took it from you. That's how she had learned, to hell with what he told her.

When all was said and done Kara had managed to get through three plates of Ma Kent's amazing cooking before realizing a new novel sensation. She was full. Wiping her mouth with the back of her sticky hand she watched as Kal spoke a few words to his parents and then turn to her smiling. "Now that you're done we're going to clean the kitchen. Ma and Pa have to go into town so I'll show you some chores when we get done with this mess."

Kara nodded as she watched Clark pick up the empty dishes and stack them up; she repeated it as well as they headed into the bright colored kitchen. When she had woken up this morning she hadn't known what to expect, was she going to be tortured, imprisoned, cast in chains and shackles, now however, she felt a new sensation rise with in her a much odder novelty than not being hungry. Safety. Knowing that she wasn't being hunted or stalked, or in hunger or living on the edge of life, gave Kara a peace she had never known before.

Turning to Clark she offered him a small thin smile, almost shyly as if she was testing it out. "You know Kal; I think I might just like it here."

Clark beamed like the morning sun itself, his shoulders squared as he walked into the kitchen joyously. Smiling back at Kara his eyes seemed to twinkle in delight as he spoke. "I hope you do, Kara, I truly hope you do."


End file.
